Daily Archives: June 6, 2020

"Remove China Apps" was not available on the Google Play Store on Wednesday, a little over two weeks after it launched with the assurance that it could help Indians identify apps made by Chinese developers.

Anti-Chinese sentiment has been rising in India in recent weeks as the two countries feud over a border dispute.

Remove China Apps was downloaded more than 4 million times before it was taken down, according to analytics company Sensor Tower. In India, nearly 160,000 users gave the app a 5-star rating on the Play Store before it was taken down.

But it was not entirely successful in detecting apps from Chinese developers, according to some users.

On Tuesday, user Sridhar Toopurani wrote in a review of the app that "while the concept is good ... it did not detect MI Video, Helo etc."

The incident, at a remote, mountainous crossing close to Tibet, was the latest in a long line of border flare-ups between the neighboring powers, and has fueled a fresh round of anti-China sentiment in India.

Sonam Wangchuk, an education reformer who was also the inspiration for a popular movie character in India, asked fellow Indians to boycott all things Chinese in response to the border standoff.

He shared a video on YouTube last week, urging Indian citizens to stop buying Chinese goods, to "use your wallet power ... and stop virtually financing the current military bullying." The video has been viewed more than 3.7 million times.

Actor Arshad Warsi addressed his 2.2 million followers on Twitter, saying he is "consciously going to stop using everything that is Chinese."

"As they are a part of most of the things we use, it will take time but I know, one day I'll be Chinese free. You should try it too," he added.

The Remove China App caught the attention of Chinese state-run tabloid The Global Times.

Tensions between the two countries are escalating, but they also have a longstanding business relationship.

Chinese investors have also poured a lot of money into some of India's buzziest tech startups.

Vedika Sud contributed to this report.

Originally posted here:

Google removes app that claimed to detect Chinese apps on Indian phones - CNN

Most of Google's US workforce has been working remotely since March due to the coronavirus. And last month, CEO Sundar Pichai said he expects most employees will largely be working from home for the rest of the year.

As the wellness and resilience lead at Google, it's Lauren Whitt's job to make sure Google employees remain healthy and have access to mental health and wellness resources during these uncertain times.

And that is no small task.

There are 10 members of the global well-being and mental health teams, who work with all of Google's employees across the globe.

To help with the shift to working from home, the company has offered virtual training and classes. And it has shifted some of its notorious perks online. Google also recently offered all employees a $1,000 allowance to spend on equipment to help outfit their home workspaces.

CNN Business spoke with Whitt about Google's recent wellness efforts during the pandemic. Here's what she had to say about what Google is doing to promote mental health and well being (This interview has been edited for clarity and length):

What role do managers have when it comes to their team's mental health? And what can they do to make sure their workers' are doing OK?

We are asking them to check in on the well-being of their team, to ask about how their team is doing. We do not want our managers to be therapists, counselors, advisers in any way on the mental health space. We do want them to check in on: 'How is your well being?' 'How are you doing?' 'How is life going for you right now?' And if there are signs or indications that there may be something going on, to be able to connect the Googler with the wealth of resources and suite of services that we have available.

The final thing that we are asking managers to do is to lead with intention with their own role modeling of well-being behavior.

We all have mangers, we all know that we often will see what our managers are doing before we hear what they are telling us to do. And so we are asking managers to lead by example and to role model well-being and detachment and recovery in their own lives as well.

The shift from working in an expansive workspace with lots of perks to being at home all the time can be tough. How are you helping workers adapt to their new reality?

I have been so impressed with Googlers' grassroots efforts to create a community and to create so much connection between what they were doing in the office to what they are doing at home.

When we are on-site, many offices have fitness centers and those coaches have taken those programs and those classes online and are doing them virtually so Googlers are still able to work out from home with people they used to work out with in the office using milk jugs and different crazy things that are around the house.

We all miss the fantastic food that we had in Google cafes and many of our cafe teams and chefs are beginning to offer virtual classes online -- so How to Cook classes for us to be able to pick up some of those unique and fun skills.

We have groups of Googlers that are doing virtual meditation and mindfulness classes -- programs called "gPause." We have peer-to-peer mental health support through our Blue Dot community so a lot of the things that were happening in the offices, we are just bringing them virtually.

Tell me about Google's decision to offer $1,000 to employees to equip their home offices. How important is the workspace?

For us to be able to provide resources for Googlers to set up the most productive workstation at home so that they have an opportunity to separate 'When I am in this space I am focused on my work and I am focused on these things, and when I step away from this space I am able to detach from work, I am able to connect with my family, my friends, my pets, the people in my community outside of this work box' is really important.

The routine and the habits that we used to have in the office are so important for us to translate those and set new routines and new habits into the workspace and work setup that we have at home.

That is really critical for us long term, as well as from a health perspective -- making sure that we have the best opportunity for ergonomically correct chairs, eye-line for monitors and those sorts of opportunities as well.

Are there any certain areas of wellness that you are focusing on more right now?

We are continuing to invest in this concept of resilience, the ability to recognize how to be present in this moment, to face the task at hand, and to focus on what can you do today?

We will continue our messages of ergonomics of proper alignments of your workspace, of having a chair that suits and supports your back, having the ergonomics and being able to alleviate some of those low back pains and muscular skeletal issues.

I think we are looking into the future, on what health and wellness will look like. How will we continue to support Googlers in their home environment and in their return to work environment to ensure that movement is a priority, that sleep is the No. 1 priority for us, and that nutrition will continue to matter to Googlers, independent of where they are working.

You say building resilience is important in a time like this. How are you helping employees develop that?

We spent a couple years really focused on making sure we had the resources and tools for Googlers to be able to focus on their mental health and get the support they need in that space.

About two years ago, we started to shift and say: 'OK, we have those tools and resources available, what is next? How do we now really focus on the ability to cope with stress, bounce back from adversity and understand that we can rebound to be able to recover from difficult challenges?'

We launched a check-in in the fall, we call it the T.E.A. [Thoughts, Energy, Attention] check-in. Our T.E.A. check is basically: where are your thoughts, where is your energy and where is your attention? And as we look at those three...is it time to take on a challenging project? Is [your energy] low? Do you need to jump up and down? Do you need to step away? Do you need to take a nap? And where is your attention? What is the one thing you can focus on today that you can control, that you can influence, that will give you purpose and meaning and optimism for today?

What is Google doing to address burnout, especially now that everyone is at home and work-life balance is harder to achieve?

One of our primary messages right now around burnout is being intentional about the recovery and the rest and the opportunity to turn things off, shift your focus to non-work activities. As Googlers are doing that, they are realizing that as they do recover and detach, they are able to come back to the work or come back to solving that problem with a refreshed, renewed excited perspective.

We often approach the conversation of burnout with very intentional practical ways to step away from your computer every 90 minutes, to get outdoors, even if you just need to do pushups or jumping jacks or stand up in between meetings and move around and shake it out, what are these ways to be able to shift your focus during and throughout the day.

Also for us, is continuing to encourage Googlers to take vacation, to step away from the work, even though you can't travel in many cases, to be able to invest in using that vacation time as recovery time.

Tell me about Google's Blue Dot Program pre-pandemic and what it looks like now.

The Blue Dot Program is our peer-to-peer mental health community. We started this program a number of years ago as Googlers wanted an opportunity to be able to talk about hard things, but they didn't necessarily feel like it was clinical. They wanted just a peer's perspective, somebody who had been through it, who had been where they were.

That group has pivoted in a really impressive way. They are operating virtual office hours, we have different places online where you can connect virtually over Google Meet video calls to be able to talk about those things.

Although the face-to-face component of that program has shifted, they have taken it virtually through Google tools and are continuing to really innovate around new ideas to be able to connect and support each other and those who are interested in joining moving forward.

View original post here:

Google will give every employee $1,000 to WFH. Its head of wellness explains why - FOX5 Las Vegas

Foreign hackers targeted the personal email accounts of staffers on the presidential campaigns of Democratic primary candidate Joe Biden and President Donald Trump, Reuters reported. It appears that state-backed hackers from China tried to target staffers on the Biden campaign, while Iranian hackers targeted the email accounts of Trump campaign staff.

Shane Huntley, the head of Googles Threat Analysis Group, tweeted that the hackers had made phishing attempts on campaign staffers emails, but there had been no sign of compromise.

A Google spokesperson told The Verge the company had not seen evidence that any of the attempted attacks had been successful and that it had sent the information to federal law enforcement officials. We encourage campaign staff to use extra protection for their work and personal emails, and we offer security resources such as our Advanced Protection Program and free security keys for qualifying campaigns, the spokesperson said.

Matt Hill, deputy national press secretary for the Biden campaign, says the campaign was aware of the phishing attempt and had been braced for something like this to happen. We have known from the beginning of our campaign that we would be subject to such attacks and we are prepared for them, Hill told The Verge in an email, adding that the campaign takes cybersecurity seriously and will remain vigilant against these threats.

A spokesperson for the Trump campaign said it had been been briefed that foreign actors unsuccessfully attempted to breach the technology of our staff. We are vigilant about cybersecurity and do not discuss any of our precautions.

This apparently wasnt the first instance of Iranian hackers trying to access Trump campaign emails. Last year, Microsoft said an Iranian group known alternately as Phosphorous, APT 35, or Charming Kitten unsuccessfully tried to get into a presidential campaigns emails. Reuters later identified the campaign in question as Trumps.

Email hacking is a particularly fraught issue for US political campaigns after Russian hackers successfully phished the Democratic National Committee in 2016, exposing thousands of emails.

UPDATED June 4th 5:35PM ET: Added comment from Trump campaign spokesperson.

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Google says foreign hackers targeted emails of Trump and Biden campaign staffers - The Verge

Google has added its line of Nest smart home devices to its Advanced Protection Program, a security offering that adds stronger account protections for high-risk users like politicians and journalists.

The program, launched in 2017, allows anyone who signs up access to a range of additional account security features, like limiting third-party access to account data, anti-malware protections and allowing the use of physical security keys to help thwart some of the most advanced cyberattacks.

Google said that adding Nest to the program was a top request from users.

Smart home devices are increasingly a target for hackers largely because many internet-connected devices lack basic security protections and are easy to hack, prompting an effort by states and governments to help device makers improve their security. A successful hack can allow hackers to snoop in on smart home cameras, or ensnare the device into a massive collection of vulnerable devices a botnet that can be used to knock websites offline with large amounts of junk traffic.

Although Nest devices are more secure than most, its users are not immune from hackers.

After a spate of reported automated attacks targeting Nest cameras earlier this year, Google began requiring that Nest users must enable two-factor authentication. Google said its systems had not been breached, but warned that hackers were using passwords stolen in other breaches to target Nest users.

Other device makers, like Amazon-owned Ring, were also targeted by hackers using reused passwords.

While two-factor authentication virtually eliminates these kinds of so-called credential stuffing attacks, Google said its new security improvements will add yet another layer of protection to users Nest devices.

Continued here:

After a spate of device hacks, Google beefs up Nest security protections - TechCrunch

Optus has been ordered to reveal the identity of a user who left an anonymous review on Google about a Melbourne dentist, who wants to sue the user for defamation damages.

Guardian Australia broke the news in February that Melbourne dentist Dr Matthew Kababbe had successfully compelled Google through the federal court to hand over the details of a user who left a negative review about his business.

The user known only as CBsm 23 claimed the dentist made the experience extremely awkward and uncomfortable and the procedure was a complete waste of time.

Kababbe was successful in obtaining an IP address associated with the review from Google, which revealed it was connected to an Optus account.

The federal court this week served a subpoena on Optus ordering the company to hand over information about which account was assigned the IP address at the time the review was made.

A spokeswoman for Optus did not provide a comment about the case, but said that Optus complies with all government laws and regulations, including court orders.

Kababbes lawyer, Mark Stanarevic of Matrix Legal, told Guardian Australia it had been difficult for Kababbe and some of his other clients to get Google to act on false negative reviews, which he said can be extremely damaging for peoples businesses.

You dont know what business youve lost from the people who didnt come because of the bad review, he said.

We are at the mercy of Google, thats the issue.

It is the latest in an increasing trend of people taking action against Google to find the identities of people behind negative reviews, which Google has beenreluctant to remove.

Stanarevic is also representing Melbourne gangland lawyer Zarah Garde-Wilson in her bid to unmask a user who left a negative review about her law firm, Garde Wilson Criminal Lawyers. On Thursday the federal court again ordered Google to provide information about an account that left a negative review Google had not removed, despite Garde-Wilson stating that the law firm had never acted for the user.

Stanarevic said users had the right to anonymity online, but there were limits.

There has to be a balance between freedom of speech and the rights of small business owners at the behest of a global monopoly. Theyre competing rights, he said.

If someone has time on their hands, and has malicious intent to destroy that small business they can actually quite easily do it, he said.

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Optus ordered to reveal identity of user who left negative Google review of Melbourne dentist - The Guardian

Department of Justice lawyers have interviewed numerous buy- and sell-side companies since kicking off an antitrust probe of Googles business practices roughly a year ago.

They know their shit now, said one ad tech executive whos had multiple calls and exchanged a flurry of emails with DOJ attorneys since October.

The early calls were about them trying to understand how this industry works, the executive said. But now they understand the landscape, they understand how this consolidation of power has happened and theyre looking for specific instances to prove their case.

And the case is picking up momentum. Fox Business reported in late May that the DOJ has hired unnamed outside counsel, evidence that its close to filing its suit. And sources tell The New York Times that the Justice Department has plans to bring antitrust charges against Google as early as this summer.

A bipartisan coalition of states led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is also probing Google on anticompetitive grounds, an effort that could eventually be merged into the DOJs investigation.

As DOJ enforcers probe both Googles search business and its ad practices and prepare their case, here is what theyve asked.

AdExchanger spoke with multiple people on condition of anonymity who have been questioned in recent months by the Justice Department.

Do you have examples of anticompetitive behavior on the part of Google?

Over the past eight months or so, the DOJs line of questioning has zeroed in on uncovering specific incidents of Google engaging in monopolistic practices.

Theyre looking for the smoking guns, said the CEO of an ad tech company on the buy side.

How was your company affected when Google cut off access to YouTube inventory?

In 2015, Google announced that it would cut off third-party access to YouTube inventory, effectively giving DV360 exclusive access to the largest marketplace for digital video.

The fallout for third-party ad tech was immediate. What was the impact on our company? Well, we lost millions of dollars in revenue, said one ad tech executive.

Former AppNexus CEO Brian OKelley testified during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing last year that Googles announcement was a devastating move for his and other ad tech companies.

Pulling YouTube inventory out of AdX is a textbook example of monopolistic behavior, said another buy-side ad tech CEO. Basically, youre creating a second monopoly in the DSP market.

Were you harmed by dynamic allocation?

For years, DoubleClick for Publishers (now Google Ad Manager or GAM) gave preferential treatment to AdX through dynamic allocation, AKA last look. The rise of header bidding was in reaction to this advantage.

Google opened dynamic allocation to outside demand in 2016, creating a more unified auction, but the damage had already been done, said an ad ops executive at a large publisher. And by law US antitrust authorities are empowered to go after historical actions.

When you talk to regulators about dynamic allocation, their faces light up, the exec said. And thats because the tactics Google used over time impeded the growth of competitors. If Google didnt do dynamic allocation, for example, who knows, maybe a company like Rubicon could have been a competing ad server.

Do you know Googles margins?

Google has shared publicly that publishers receive 68% of revenue for displaying ads with AdSense. But the true margins remain opaque, and Google does not disclose the rev share for other AdSense products.

They have market share from a search perspective and a data perspective, a publishing exec said. You can use things like unified pricing and other methods to convince yourself that youve created a fair marketplace, but really its designed around extracting monopoly margins from a giant pool of demand in Google Ads.

What do you think Googles market share is across the ad server space, the DSP space and the exchange space?

The DOJ was particularly interested in what ad tech folks perceived as Googles market share across its ad products. For what its worth, the United Kingdoms Competition and Markets Authority estimates that Google has more than 90% of the ad server market, between 40% and 60% of the SSP market and between 50% and 70% of the DSP market.

Google doesnt maintain the same dominance across every piece, but, taken together plus their share of the browser market its a different story, said a buy-side ad tech executive. Its about the totality, which is why you cant look at the pieces in isolation.

Does Google have a data advantage?

Google has first-party relationships with consumers through its consumer-facing services, including Google Play, search, Gmail and Chrome (for those who choose to log in). This data doesnt leave the Google universe, but does flow into the Google ad tech stack.

The use of that data in a product like DV360 raises questions and eyebrows, said an executive at a DSP. And thats because Id argue many of those products have their own monopolies as well.

How have Googles privacy policies impacted your business?

Some of Googles rivals are convinced that many of the privacy-related changes Google has made to its policies over the years have more to do with preserving market share than preserving privacy.

One ad tech CEO brought up Googles behavior in the lead up to GDPR as evidence of anticompetitive behavior. In 2018, for example, Google stopped allowing buyers to use the DoubleClick ID for data transfer from its ad server and yanked the DoubleClick ID from its DSP in Europe.

At first, the DOJ lawyers werent inclined to pursue the topic, because anything outside the United States is beyond its scope.

But I talked about how destructive some of these moves were to everyone else other than Google and the fact that the companies affected are US companies and Google, of course, is a US company, the executive said. And then they really wanted to understand how these restrictions impacted our business.

How do you think this situation should be remedied, and if the remedy is a breakup of Google, where would you make the break?

Thats the multi-multibillion-dollar question.

They asked me this very specifically, and its a very tough one to answer, because the answer depends on where you sit, the CEO said. Owning access to the supply, then controlling the connection ofsupply and demandin the exchangeis problematic, because its an opportunity for abuse but so is owning the browser.

The DOJ seems fully cognizant that Googles various businesses form an interconnected web.

An ad ops publishing executive summed it up like this: This isnt one thing, its a million little things: DoubleClick, YouTube, search. I think the DOJ understands that just untying DFP from AdX for example, doesnt fix things.

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This Is What The DOJ Is Thinking As It Preps Its Antitrust Case Against Google - AdExchanger

Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) has invested in Gojeka leading ride-hailing and food delivery provider in the Southeast Asia region. Notably, Facebook joins Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Tencent in one of Southeast Asias most promising technology startups. Tencent has a successful track record in technology startup investments. For example, Tencent invested in companies like Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), Huya (NYSE:HUYA), and Bilibili before their successful IPO. Also, Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE:TME) was a unit of Tencent before its 2018 fall IPO. Some 16 Tencent-backed startups went public in 2018. The company also sought a stake worth $200 million in Warner Music Group before the record labels IPO.

Before Facebook joined the party, Gojek raised $1.0 billion last year from a group of investors including Tencent, Google, and JD.com.

In addition to its ride-hailing and food delivery businesses, Gojek operates in the digital payments space. Facebook and Gojek want to support local businesses. Gojek has helped bring digital benefits to hundreds of thousands of merchants through its food delivery and payment platforms. According to Facebook, investing in the startup will help bring small businesses into the digital economy. Gojek is based in Indonesia, which is Southeast Asias largest economy.

Also, the Gojek investment comes a little over a month after Facebook put $5.7 billion into Indias Jio Platform for a 10% stake in the business. As part of the investment, Facebook and Jio will create technology solutions to benefit millions of local businesses in India.

Gojeks main competitor in the Southeast Asia region is Grab. Notably, Grabs backers include SoftBank. Overall, Gojek and Grab want to become Asias super apps.

The Gojek investment should expand Facebooks opportunities in Southeast Asias booming digital economy. Meanwhile, a Google-Temasek study showed that Southeast Asias digital economy could hit $300 billion by 2025. The regions digital economy was valued at $100 billion in 2019.

One of the fastest-growing sectors in Southeast Asias digital economy is digital payments. Facebooks investment in Gojek comes as it gears up to launch a digital payment system called Libra. Facebook counts on Libra to simplify and cut the cost of everyday money transactions for merchants and consumers.

Facebook stock has gained 13% year-to-date and trades above $232. However, the stock has over 20% upside to its highest Wall Street target price at $285.

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Why Facebook Joined Google and Tencent in Gojek Investment - Market Realist